1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recording device, which includes a buffer that accumulates image information independently and simultaneously when the image information is transmitted from a plurality of image information supplying devices during a same period of time, an image recording system and an image recording method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, for a printer in a multi-host environment in which a plurality of host computers are provided on the same network, when the printer receives print commands from the host computers, the printer performs image recording in the order of receiving the print commands.
However, the aforementioned printer cannot receive the print commands simultaneously. After a reception of data received first is completed, the printer starts receiving the next data. Accordingly, there is a problem in that it takes time to complete the reception of the next data.
In particular, when a conversion of original data into image data is performed in the host computers and the resulting image data is sent to the printer after the conversion, the conversion starts once the printer has returned to signal-receivable state. Thus, an initiation of the transfer of the image data to the printer is considerably delayed such that productivity of the whole system may be decreased. Original data other than the corresponding original data is made to wait until the processing of the corresponding original data, which includes the conversion, ends. As a result, an operational efficiency is inferior.
There is a possibility of the order of the output becoming disorganized in cases when printing plates corresponding to each of four colors, cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y) and black (K) are made for printing in a printer and all of the printing plates corresponding to the colors must be put in order. For example, a case in which, in correspondence with a printing request from the computers, each of the plates which corresponds to two jobs (which jobs include C, M, Y, or K color designation) must be alternately outputted. In such cases, it takes time to superimpose all of the printing plates corresponding to the four colors. As a result, the whole operational efficiency decreases.